


Surrogate Mother

by BBirdy



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adorable Leo Valdez, Between Lost Hero and Son of Neptune, Domestic Fluff, Drabble (kinda), F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Leo Valdez Needs a Hug, Leo Valdez POV, Mother-Son Relationship, Other, Pre-The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus), Sad Leo Valdez, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Sally and Leo Bonding, and a vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-11 23:10:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20554214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBirdy/pseuds/BBirdy
Summary: Yet another repost from fanfiction.net I really do love this story.Please tell me what you think. I love replying to comments!





	Surrogate Mother

I walked through the park in that early spring day, trying to keep my mind off my ship, sitting sadly in the bunker, waiting for me to return.

"No," I said out loud. "Think about other stuff. Think about how nice it is outside. Think about the sunshine, the birds, anything!" I realized I was talking to myself and stopped. I was crazy. All those lonesome hours in the bunker had finally cracked me.

No. No thinking about the bunker.

But what else was there to think about? Piper had pressed me into a day off. I had fought back. She said I had other cabin mates, one day wouldn't hurt, I needed to get out. Admittedly she did have a point. Some days I would be so far past human I could go days without sleep, running entirely on ADHD and manic energy. It was strange when -after hours of talking to Festus through creaks and morse code- to hear other human voices.

So I was outside, trying to intake real air. Before heading out to the city I had caught my reflection in the mirror. I was skinny, worse than normal, sake circles hung under my eyes. My hair was matted and tangled even after a war with the comb. My clothes hung off me and I had fought Piper to let me take my tool belt, which seemed affixed to my hip. I seemed almost permanently greasy and, only after ten showers, had I felt clean enough to leave. But what was most disturbing was my dark chocolate brown eyes. Bloodshot, tired and filled with stressed I looked like an escaped mental patient.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. My thin, twitching fingers got caught but I ignored the sharp tugged of hair pulling itself out. This experience happened so often I hardly noticed. It was a good thing my hair was fireproof as well or I would have been bald a long time ago.

"Well, there's something to think about," I muttered. "Why doesn't my hair catch fire." I sighed. "Leo Valdez you should be admitted to a mental facility."

Again I returned to silence and listened to pigeons coo in the trees. But, wrapped in the other noises I heard something else. Stopping I strained my ears to hear... a woman crying.

Instinct took over. I remembered hearing my mother cry to many nights over bills and many other things my eight-year-old brain couldn't comprehend. Walking through the trees I found a woman, sitting on a bench next to an empty duck pond. The small fountain in the center made a perfect rainbow in the morning light.

I looked the woman over. She had her head on her hands, long dark hair covering all but her left hand which held a beautiful pearl ring. She had a slim figure and a warm blue jacket buttoned down to her blue jean legs and leather boots. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs.

"Excuse me?" I called gently.

She jumped, looking up. She was pretty, in an older woman motherly sort of way. Her eyes were puffy and red, tear stains lining her cheeks. "Oh," she sniffed. "Am I disturbing you?" It wasn't a rude question. She was genuinely concerned.

"No," I smiled. "I was just wondering... what's wrong?"

"Just a few things," she smiled through her tears, wiping them away with her gloved fingers.

"Can I help?" I asked, eager to assist in any way.

She laughed a little. "No, I don't think you can."

"But I made you laugh," I grinned. "That's something at least!"

"Thank you," she patted the seat next to her and I wasn't scared or concerned about sitting next to her. "What's your name, young man?" She asked.

"Leo," I held out my hand and she shook it. "And you?"

"Miss. J- Mrs. B-" she paused. "Sally. Call me Sally."

"Nice to meet you, Sally," I grinned my biggest grin, trying to make her feel better.

"If you don't mind me asking..." she tilted her head. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen, why?" I asked, wondering if I should trust her despite how kind she looked.

She nodded. "You look about the same age as my son, but you're much smaller."

"I know I'm short," I pretended to be offended, but keep my cheery disposition to tell her it was a joke.

Sally laughed again. She had a nice laugh, warm and caring. A son? She must have been a great mother.

"A son?" I voiced my thoughts. "How many kids do you have?"

"One," she said wistfully. "Sometimes I wish I could have given him brothers and sisters."

"That's all right," I nodded, looking to the duck pond. "I'm an only child and I turned out okay." If being okay meant living in a cave in the woods and talking to a metal dragon head. "Shut up," I mumbled, rubbing my head.

"Excuse me?" Sally said, confused.

"Not you," I told her. "I've been having a lot of headaches lately."

"Stress?" she asked. I nodded. "It doesn't help if you rub it. The best thing for a headache is an aspirin and a good nap."

"Wish I had time," I let out a bark-like laugh. "I've been working on a... a project. It's taking a lot of time."

"Is it for school?" Sally wondered.

"No," I spoke instinctively. "I don't really go to school. I go to a sort of homeschool camp." Nice story. How was I going to pull off that lie?

"What kind of camp?" 

Oh good. My lie wasn't too far fetched.

"Sort of normal," I shrugged. "They teach you reading and writing," yeah, Greek. "And math," how many monsters equal death? "And arts and crafts," if greek busts and magic weapons counted "And self-defense," not many places used real swords though. "And lots of other things..." I trailed off lamely.

"What's your favorite subject?"

"Metalworking." Outside of bunker nine, the forge was my favorite place. The fire roaring, burning creations into place within its jaws. Everyone, listening to ideas, sharing, laughing and the occasional burn, only to be shrugged off out of perseverance.

Sally said something else.

"What?"

"I said my son's favorite was marine life. He came home one day when he was eight telling me he had to go down to the ocean and get a starfish for a project. He came back with a bucket full of them saying he couldn't choose because he liked them all." She was rambling. "Turns out he never got the assignment in the first place. He kept lots in jars at home and the next week he let them back into the ocean."

"Your son sounds nice," I said honestly. Imagine having a mother like Sally and a normal life. You come home from school, tired and fed up and she'd be there with that nice smile and warm laugh, ready to listen to you talk.

I realized Sally was nodding, agreeing with my statement.

"So... Sally..." it felt weird, addressing an adult by their first name like that. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Oh," she blushed, glancing at the pond. "I just.. got off the phone with someone. They had some disappointing news for me."

I didn't want to guess what could make such a happy woman cry. "If you don't mind me asking what was it?"

"Someone I love very much is missing. And no one has found them yet."

"How long has it been?

"Four months now. They missed Christmas. I still have their present sitting under my bed. It was a surfboard. Paul was going to teach him how to surf."

'They' changed to 'he' and Leo noticed. Was it her husband, brother...? Was it her son? "I'm sorry," I put my elbows on the knees and clenched my hands to stop the shaking.

"You talk like you've had a similar experience." Sally leaned back, putting her hands in my pocket.

"Bit more extreme than them going missing though." I chuckled through the stabbing pain in my heart.

"Family?"

"Yeah," my voice broke.

"Oh, Leo," she put her arm around my shoulders but I wasn't scared or concerned. Demigod instincts are strong and she didn't feel dangerous or like she was faking. "You don't have to talk about it. I didn't mean to make you think about it."

"No," I held back my emotions. "I want to tell you. Maybe..." I don't know. Would it make her feel better, guilty, pity? No. I just wanted to tell someone. I took a breath, preparing for the plunge. "When I was eight I lived in Texas and the machine shop where my mother worked caught fire. I was in the front room and the doors to the backlit. I couldn't get to her and I couldn't get out. She died." It wasn't a very good telling but letting go that day felt right.

Sally smiled gently, her arm never leaving my holders and squeezed. "Did you come to live with your dad?"

I snorted. For a moment the image of that oversize man raising me in a machine shop like one of his automatons flashed through my head. "No. I went to live with my aunt. Then cousins. Then total strangers. Eventually, I ended up in a boarding school, a ward of the state. That's where I met friends and now I live at the camp."

"That's nice. She smiled. I hope that's what he did-wherever he is- find good friends and is living happily."

"Who is it that's missing?" I couldn't hold back anymore.

"My son."

"How old?"

"He's sixteen."

"At least he's old enough to take pretty good care of himself."

She nodded. "I don't worry he can't take care of himself, I know he can. It's just..." she stopped, wondering how to say it.

"Is he in a cult or something?" I tried to joke but Sally didn't smile. "He isn't... is he?"

"It's not like that. Not exactly," she pursed her lips.

"Try me," I said. In a world of monsters and gods, nothing in the mortal world could surprise me.

She shook her head. "So your project," she changed the subject. "What is it?"

"A boat," I said honestly. It was so much more than just a boat but I don't think she could process twelve or so kids working on a full-fledged bronze warship.

"In metalworking? Hard camp."

"Not really," I said leaning on Sally who had not moved her arm. "I chose to make it so hard. I had the parts before. Most kids do simpler stuff."

"Why'd you choose something so hard?"

"I'm not exactly what you'd call a social butterfly," I said, pulling the topic off of my flying boat which I want supposed to be thinking about. "I wanted she thing that would keep me as far away for as long as it could."

"Think you bit off more than you can chew?" Sally asked, staring to the clear sky outlined by trees.

"Sometimes," I looked up at the clouds as well. "But then I remember I've got to finish what I start and I'll always have help."

"Anyone in particular who helps you?"

"A girl. She's not much of a mechanic but she's good with the structure and blueprints." Annabeth was-when she wasn't out searching- a really good help.

"Oh," Sally smiled. "Girlfriend?"

"No, no, no," I said somewhere between a laugh and whimper of fear. "She'd kill me if I made any moves. Besides she has a guy."

"You sure you couldn't take him?" Sally teased.

"Dunno," I shrugged. "I've never met him but I'm sure I couldn't. I hear he's pretty strong."

"Why haven't you met him? Does he go to a different school or something?"

"No. He's missing too."

"And this girl still calls herself his girlfriend? She must be loyal."

"She must be." I agreed.

"Is she ok?" Sally asked. "With her boyfriend missing and all?"

"She's tough. I see her sometimes when she doesn't think anyone's looking." Annabeth was strong. She would hold out until the ship was finished, I knew she would.

"Sometimes I wonder..." Sally sighed. "Which is harder?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is it harder to know someone is dead or to have them be missing and never knowing?" Sally continued to stare at the sky as a grey cloud began to overtake our patch of light.

"Depends on what you believe," I shrugged. "If you believe in heaven or something like that then you believe you will see them again."

"Do you believe that?" Sally asked.

Yep, I thought. I totally believe in the greek underworld. "Sort of. I believe that we go somewhere after we die." It depends if we make it into Asphodel, Elysium or Eternal torture, however. Had my mother made it into Elysium? She hadn't died a hero but she had lived as one. "And you?"

"I know, even if I don't end up in paradise, my son will. I know he'll be happy."

I nodded. Her son sounded nice. I wish I knew him. "So do you believe in any specific type of heaven? If you don't mind me asking," I amended.

"It's kind of strange," she laughed quietly. "Do you know about Greek myths?"

Lady, you're looking at a greek myth. "Yeah, I know about them."

"I believe in a greek style underworld. With three stages. Paradise, obscurity, and prison."

"Obscurity?" I had never heard that word to describe Asphodel.

"You live in a state between living and death, nothing more than a shadow of your former self." She frowned. "Most don't even remember their names or their lives."

"That's one way to look at it," for a second we watched the clouds roll by, darker every minute. "Where do you think you'll go?" I asked after another moment.

"Obscurity."

"You mean the fields of Asphodel?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm kind of a greek myth..." I searched for the right word, "fan." Sally smiled. "So why do you think you'll end up there?"

"I'm no hero and I don't think I've done anything to deserve eternal punishment. Leo..."

"Hmmm?"

"Where do you think you'll go?"

I shrugged. I'd never even thought about it. "Not sure. Asphodel probably. Torture is more likely. I don't care as long as I see my mother in Elysium."

"What do you think you've done to deserve torture for eternity?" Sally looked almost scared. Scared of my one hundred and ten pounds of thin boney nothingness.

"I let my mother die."

"Oh Leo," she squeezed me tight. "A machine shop fire? There was nothing you could have done."

"Sometimes I think that too, then others..." I looked down to my hands and prayed to Hephaestus they wouldn't burst into flames like they usually did when I got emotional. I sighed, my breath wavering, holding in my tears and put my head on Sally's shoulder. "You know," I sniffed. "You're a great mom and I've only known to for a few minutes."

"Thank you."

"Your son is lucky..." I paused. "If I could ask... what's his name?"

"Oh," she smiled gently, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "Percy. Percy Jackson."

I got out from under her arm, mouth wide open. "No way. You– you're Sally Jackson?"

"You know me?" Sally sat open-mouthed. "Camp." She smacked her forehead. "Of course. You go to–"

"Camp Half-Blood," I said. It was obvious, now that I looked. I'd seen pictures of the great Percy Jackson. This woman looked just like him. The dark hair, the same warm smile.

"You're a demigod?" Sally asked.

"Yep!" I grinned.

"Child of..."

"Hephaestus," I tilted my head.

"Leo Valdez..." Sally realized.

"How do you know me?" I asked.

"When you found me I had just finished an iris message with Chiron. He tells me a lot about you and the rest of camp." She put her arm back around me and hugged me tightly. "You're the one making the ship to find my son. Thank you." I couldn't even talk as I hugged her back. A real hug. She smelled a bit like the sea and a lot like coconut shampoo. She didn't let go for a long time and I didn't want her to.

After she released him she held him at arm's length for a moment. I felt a little teary-eyed myself. 

Maybe she had squeezed them out of me.

"Leo," she smiled. "Do you want to go get lunch?"

"That would be great."

We stopped at a little diner which had, by the way, the most amazing breakfast burgers in the world. Sally refused to buy me a coffee so I ended up with water. Sally got a pancake platter that I ended up finishing. She was fun to talk to. She was an author with a couple fiction books published. She told me about them and asked me questions.

"So I'm trying to accurately write a specific type of car but I can't get actuate pictures of the engines." She would name the car and I would give her my best answer. I would ask her questions to, trying hard to avoid taboo topics. It wasn't hard. She was an interesting person.

Before I knew it it was half-past three and we had wandered half of New York. We didn't really shop but we did wander into a few places. It was almost like having a mother again.

"Leo?" Sally asked as we sat in the fading sunshine in front of a small candy shop.

"Hmmm?" I tried to speak through the mouthful of Pecan Candy. It was just as good as I remembered.

"Chiron said you have the gift of fire..."

"What about it?" I swallowed.

"Can you really summon fire?" Her eyes were alight with interest. 

Glancing around quickly I saw no one was there. Then I nodded. 

"Do you think you could show me?"

"You sure?" I asked, already setting down my bag of candy. She nodded emphatically. With a deep breath, I concentrated and lit a small fire in my palm.

"Wow..." She muttered, extending a hand.

"Don't touch!" I warned. "It might be controlled but it's still fire."

"That's really amazing." She smiled. Before she could say anything else her phone rang. "One sec," she said and answered.

"Okay," I pulled out more Pecan candy and almost finished off the bag before she finished her conversation. Between bites, I heard her conversation.

"Hello...? Paul!" she smiled. "I'm just out at John's coffee... I don't know when I'm coming back. Jennifer is not with me." She rolled her eyes. "It's not May either." A long pause. "I don't know when I'll be back... It's three o'clock why?"

I choked. Literally began choking. Sally dropped her phone and handed over her water glass. Tears streaming down my face I spoke. "Three o'clock. Already?"

Sally nodded when a male voice rang through the phone. "Sally? Sally! Sally, are you ok?"

She picked up the phone. "Yes, Paul I'm fine... Leo was choking on his food. Paul!" She cried. "Leo is Annabeth's friend... Yes, he's fifteen. He– for your information is the one helping to get Percy back!" she was nearly screaming, her voice cracking on Percy's name. "Yes." Sally calmed down. She put her hand over the receiver. "Would you like a ride back to camp?"

"Yes, please," I nodded. I didn't need the long walk back.

Sally turned back to the cell phone. "I'll be home in an hour. I'm going to drive Leo back to camp then grab some groceries... All right. Love you." She hung up the phone and smiled at me with an exasperated sigh. "I love him. But he drives me nuts." 

She stood, shouldering her bag, "come on. Let's get you back."

I sat in the passenger seat as the city spread into suburbs which slowly fell away. My fingers twitched with nervousness.

"You ok?" Sally asked.

"I always get twitchy behind the engine of a car. And this," I grinned. "Is a classic."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

"You really want to see this?" I asked. She nodded, turning down the radio. I placed my hand on the dashboard and closed my eyes. This is a 2007 Honda civic. It comes with a 2.0-liter K20Z3 i-VTEC engine that produces 197 hp (147 kW; 200 PS) and 139 lbf·ft (188 N·m) of torque, while also including a 6-speed manual transmission with a helical limited-slip differential." I sat back, my heart pounding with excitement. To felt the engine running beneath my fingers and the gears almost speaking to me.

"That's impressive," Sally admitted. "You got all that from touching it?"

"Most of it. I knew a little before."

The engine kicked. And I gripped my seat. "Oh dear," she winced. "I knew it wasn't having a good week but I never thought..." Sally turned to me. "Don't suppose you know how to fix it?"

"Why not?" I hopped out and opened the hood, pulling a rag from my tool belt and waving away the huge, billowing, white smoke. I coughed for a second and peered in. "Wow," I whistled. "That is a car. I could freaking marry this thing."

Sally laughed. "It's nice to see one man in my life taking an interest in cars."

"So I'm a man now?" I waved away the rest of the smoke and pulled a wrench from my tool belt, throwing the rag over my shoulder.

"Do you have any idea what's wrong?" Sally leaned over my shoulder.

I paused a moment and touched the engine. "Head gasket is blown," I winced. "That's not an easy fix."

"How do you fix it?"

"You'd have to replace it. The cylinder head has to be taken out. With this model that's simple," I leaned closer and stuck my hand down in the center of the still-warm engine. "Just have to... pull... the head... off..." I grunted and it twisted.

"Careful," Sally warned. "You could burn yourself." I looked at her and bit my lip, trying not to laugh. She looked confused for a moment before smacking herself on the forehead. "Ignore me. There's too much mother in me."

I raised my eyebrow, still holding back laughter. "Anyway," I tugged the head out and placed it in my pocket. "Once it's off the head and the block should be looked over for anything that could explain why it burst." I crawled under the car and handed the gods for my skinny physique. "I don't see anything wrong. I just think it needs a new head." I reached in my pocket for the same head and pulled myself from under the car. "I don't think the head burst, I just think it wasn't screwed on right."

"I think I understood most of those words," Sally laughed.

"Oh," I blushed. "I didn't even realize I was doing it. I just think out loud."

"Don't worry. It's interesting," she leaned on the car. "So you can fix it?"

"For now. But I would advise getting a better head for it."

"Got it," Sally nodded, a teasing smile on her face as she saluted. I shoved the wrench and reg back in my pockets and they vanished. She headed back to the driver's seat before pausing. "Do you want to drive?"

"I don't even have my permit," I raised an eyebrow. "Heck, I'm barely fifteen."

"Come on," she coaxed. "Try it out." I relented and sat in the front seat and I prepared to touch the wheel. "Wait!" She called, holding up her hand. "Wipe your hands first."

"Clean hands; dirty equipment," I chuckled as I wiped my hands down the best I could.

"Who said that?"

"My mom," I smiled with one half of my mouth. Carefully starting the engine, I shifted into drive and pressed down on the gas.

"Careful," Sally cautioned. She looked like she was regretting the decision already.

"Don't worry," I grinned like an idiot. "I've flown a helicopter before. You're fine."

"I don't even want to know," Sally waved it away. I drove smoothly for a few miles until camp half-blood hill camp into view. "You're a natural," she complimented as I pulled to a stop at the base of the hill.

"Thanks," I said, opening the door.

She hopped out as well. "I had a nice time," she said. "Thanks." I waved and walked up the hill. "Be careful Leo!"

"Yes mom," I teased. Then I caught myself. "Gods I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry about it," she rounded the car and I was grateful to see there were no tears in her eyes. "It's about time I had a son again," she smiled. "With you in charge, I know my Percy's coming back safe. If you need anything just iris message me."

I couldn't stop myself, I came back down the hill and wrapped her in a hug. She gasped at first then returned. She smelled like the machine shop I felt her heartbeat and for a moment I swore I heard a voice whisper in my ear. "Mi hijo..."

I pulled away and smiled, tears in my eyes. "Thanks, mom."

"Go on kiddo," she waved. "Before Piper gets any madder."

I walked up the hill and looked back only once when I reached the summit. "See you later," I whispered, waving as she drove away. "I will get your son back. I promise. I swear on the river Styx."

"Who was that?" a girl's voice made me jump.

"Piper!" I gasped. "Give me a heart attack my don't you."

"Who was that?"

"Percy Jackson's mom." I didn't look, I knew her jaw was hanging open. "Mom..." I said again.

"Ok, you have to tell me what happened," she pulled me over the hill and back down. "And don't you dare leave out one detail!"

"Mom..." I said, rolling the word over in my mouth. "Gods, mom, I miss you."

And back on the wind on the wind, I heard it again, clearer, "Mi hijo."

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another repost from fanfiction.net I really do love this story. 
> 
> Please tell me what you think. I love replying to comments!


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